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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: prune · fan · saw · bay · wind · safe · band · file

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. prune — to trim
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. wind — moving air
  8. file — a document
  9. band — a music group
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. file — a tool
  19. band — a ring
  20. file — a line of people
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — the tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com